Matt Carthy (Cavan-Monaghan, Sinn Fein)
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The one thing most people find bizarre and cannot get their heads around is that this deal has been sold by Coillte as expanding the forestry programme. As I mentioned last night in the Dáil, only 3,500 ha of the 12,000 ha in this initial deal have been sold as being for new afforestation. The other 8,500 ha will be existing forestry land. Who currently owns that land? What benefit is there to the State if Gresham House takes control of land that is already forested?